 As a child I lived in Carpentersville Illinois, one of my favorite memories from back then was going to the candy store with my older brother. A shinny quarter in my pocket from our father would get me a bag filled with the candy of my choice. That was over forty years ago and things have certainly changed since then. These days a quarter would hardly buy me candy yet alone a bag filled with it. The prices from yesterday might be a thing of the past but if you look hard enough the deals from back then can still be found. One of my favorite places for this are antique stores and similar outlets. My typical venture to these places is in search of hand tools, and usually I find them. It does sometimes require a bit of digging around through the different things that tend to collected and pile up in places like this, but the treasure hunt is certainly worth the reward when you find that one item. Over the years I have found all kinds of great deals in places like this, just recently a beautiful Victor hand plane that I gladly paid eight dollars for. Now the chances of finding a brand new item in a place like this is pretty slim, these are usually tools that have been used through the generations and are just waiting to be used again in need of a little cleaning up and some over due maintenance, but certainly deserving of the few dollars being asked for and the little bit of work required to bring them back to glory. For me second hand tools bring pride, I think it's the awareness that you are carrying on the craftsmanship of the generations before you shadowed in the thoughts of what amazing things these craftsmen may have created with the very tool you hold in your hand, it is truly an amazing circle that I am proud to be a small part of. Antique stores are an amazing place and are certainly filled with great deals, but I think they are so much more then that, they promote heritage to come about full circle, for a new generation to appreciate, create with and build this generation of craftsmen.  Copyright © 2011-2016 By The Shavingwood Workshop all rights reserved
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 Time brings change to everything because everything done is a lesson to be learned from, and from these lesson we grow. We grow in our creativity, we grow in our capabilities, and we grow as people. Always changing pushing ourselves, and our abilities hoping to leave some mark of inspiration in the path we leave behind. It has been five years since my first content was uploaded and it has been a wonderful journey filled with new friends, new faces and new lessons learned, and I have enjoyed it all. I look back to my first subscriber on YouTube to the now over 72 thousand subscribers I have, and then to everyone who follows me in the various social media platforms and it amazes me how far things have come. Looking into the future I can not help but be excited about where things are going. This fall will bring a new shop to me with the purchase of a new home giving more space for me to get into bigger builds and some really amazing woodworking projects, and I am excited to share all of this with all of you. The people who always find the time to watch my videos or read whatever content I produce supporting me, and always quick to share a kind word or taking the time to reaching out to me. Thank you, because with out you I would not be where I am today. Time has brought a lot of changes since my first content was shared, and it will continue to do so, constantly bringing new lessons to learn and new goals to achieved and I welcome it all. So with my fictitious glass in hand I make my toast to all of you, " Thank you and here is to the next seventy two thousand subscribers, and remember ...... get out in your shop and build something awesome." - Tommy P  Copyright © 2011-2016 By The Shavingwood Workshop all rights reserved
 Advise for some reason seems to be something people are always eager and willing to give, and I think for the most part this has always been true, no matter what the subject there is always someone who knows all about it. I myself have always been open to out side advise and input when it comes to subjects that I may not know much about or things that I am trying to learn, as long as the source of this knowledge is credible you have my full attention. Lately the topic of how much you should charge for your woodworking has become a popular subject. And I think a lot of this sudden interest comes from the boom in content creators with in the woodworking community, people who are just starting out and looking to make a living with their woodworking. Just like everything else there is plenty of input and advise on this subject, from charging hundreds of dollars a day to tripling or ever quadrupling the cost of materials to try and make money. Before accepting any advise the source of that advise needs to be considered especially if you're looking for an honest answer, and woodworking is certainly no exception to this. If someone is telling you how to price your woodwork, the question should be do they do commissioned work ? There is a difference between making things with the hope of selling them and having someone commission you to build something. In the twenty plus years I have built commissioned pieces I have learned a few things about pricing the work I do, and first and foremost is to always be honest with your potential customer. Figure out exactly how long it will take you to do each individual step of the project, milling, joinery, assembly, this is your labor, then add your material costs and shop supplies and that's your estimate. With your estimate written out this way the deciding factor usually is your labor rate per hour, and the easiest way to determine this when first starting out is to just find out what the shops in your area are charging. There is nothing magical or mysterious about it, just be honest your labor + lumber+ supplies = your estimate. How you price the work you do should not based on an idea that you deserve crazy amounts of money daily or by ripping people off by ridiculously over charging for materials and supplies because you feel you deserve it. Just be honest and stand behind your estimate, provide quality work with out cutting corners and you can make a living, I have for over twenty years and still do.  Copyright © 2016 By The Shavingwood Workshop all rights reserved
FOLLOW ME HERE : WEBSITE: www.shavingwoodworkshop.com FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/pages/The-Shavingwood-Workshop/1421308791442987 TWITTER: https://twitter.com/Shavingwood PINTREST: www.pinterest.com/shavingwood/ Subscribe to my YouTube Channel for all the Latest Video Content : www.youtube.com/shavingwood  My time spent in the shop lately has be very little with the cold of the Minnesota winter on top of me and a broken heater in my shop. A sad situation and the parts to fix it are on order, but this has given me extra time for my social media and to see what everyone else is building or working on in their shops. I would concider myself to be a traditional woodworker so I tend to be drawn to that style of woodworking. Cabinets assembled with handcut dovetails, through tenons with fancy wedges and don't get me started on period furniture we could be here all day. But this does not mean I don't watch every venue of woodworking, from quick DIY projects to metal fabricators incorporating wood into their latest creations I enjoy it all. Although this may not be the types of woodworking I do, I still find inspiration in all of it and being able to inspire anyone is really what being a content creator is all about. Looking ahead to this coming year and the new content, the new faces and the new experiences it will bring gets me excited, much like the proverbial child in a candy store. It has been two years since my first video was uploaded to YouTube, and when I think about where I have come since then it makes me anxious to see where The Shavingwood Workshop will be in year from now. My content has grown and continues to grow since that first video because of you, my subscribers, followers and supporters. You are the reason I am here able to do what I love, the never ending words of kindness and encouragement, your contributions and most of all your belief in me. For all of this and so much more thank you, you are all amazing and I am grateful to everyone of you. This coming year is going to contain a lot of changes for me and the content I produce. The biggest of these changes is going to be the purchase of a new home and a bigger shop, this will allow me to undertake much bigger projects, projects that I currently can not take on with the limited space I have in my current shop. I am also addressing changes in my social media, the website and simalar venues I am currently involved in. All of these changes are geared towards being able to create better content for you. There is no denying this is going to be an exciting year for everyone involved and I look forward to it. -Tommy P  Copyright © 2016 By The Shavingwood Workshop all rights reserved
 With Christmas fast approaching our home has become a busy place, filled with last minute shopping and last minute hustle. But some how in the middle of all the chaos the realization settles on me that another year has almost come to a close and soon a new door will be opening filled with new memories, new achievements and amazing new things, a new year. The holidays for me are filled with great memories and amazing moments spent with family and friends. Memories that started from a very young age, kind of like a favorite book recieving a new chapter each year creating one of the greatest novels. A story that gets read over and over with each new generation and received with more excitement then the generation before. This is the last article I will write this year, yet it has nothing to do with woodworking at all. It has everything to do with being thankful for everything this last year has brought into my life, and my extended family you my followers and subscribers. So many of you I have come to know on a very personal level, sharing ideas and thoughts, getting together with you and the great conversations that we have had. To all fifty thousand plus of you I say thank you. Thank you for supporting me and thank you for believing in me and my content, you are the reason I do what I do and why. There is no doubt that this coming year is going to bring great things, introduce new faces and create another year of great memories, both in my personal life and in my public one. And I look forward to all of it. Remember to always be thankful for everything and everyone in your life and to live in each moment like it's the last one, for these moments create the memories you will carry with you the rest of your life let them be worth remembering. From my family to yours I hope all of you have a Merry Christmas and an Happy New Years filled with amazing memories and moments that will be charished for generations to come, and I will see you in the 2016.  Copyright © 2016 By The Shavingwood Workshop all rights reserved
 Build something awesome, is the message I have been sharing for years with everyone. A simple message of encouragement expressing my belief in people and their ability to be creative. I have raised six children and they have all grown up to be very different from each other, some are parents, some are military and some are career focused but the one thing they all share like everyone else is creativity. I can remember the projects they would bring home from elementary school, like the Christmas tree ornaments we hang on the tree every year made from popsicle sticks they cut and glued together to create a tobogan even adding cotton balls for the snow. A creative mind is an amazing thing that should be allowed it's direction and set free to build something awesome as small children often do. Children do not understand the I can not do that mentality to them there is nothing they can not build or make, they are only limited by their imagination and that imagination in use builds amazing things. I think as the adult grows out of the child everything becomes over evaluated, and the adult looks at something like a Sam Maloof rocking chair and sets that as a measurement for what they should be able to create stopping them from even trying for fear of not achieving this measurement they have created for themselfs, and to me this train of thought is silly at best. I have built a few rocking chairs and I'm relatively sure they were not at the level of a Sam Maloof but I never let this prevent me from building the next one or even from attemping my first one for that matter. For me it's simple, if you can imagine it you can build it and age or experience has nothing to do with anyones abiltiy to atemp to build anything. Maybe it's not a Sam Maloof but what it is is so much greater then that it's yours, you imagined it you created it and you built it and to me that is awesome not the finished project, the finished project is the reward that is deservingly earned. Don't ever measure your abilities with anyone else or what they can do, just do what you do and let your creativity guide you and you will build something awesome. - Tommy P
Copyright © 2015 By The Shavingwood Workshop all rights reserved 
FOLLOW ME HERE : WEBSITE: www.shavingwoodworkshop.com TWITTER: https://twitter.com/Shavingwood PINTREST: www.pinterest.com/shavingwood/ FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/pages/The-Shavingwood-Workshop/1421308791442987 SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL for all the Latest Video Content : www.youtube.com/shavingwood Copyright © 2015 By The Shavingwood Workshop all rights reserved  Every woodworker at some point in their journey finds themselves making a jig. Either as a way of approaching a certain task, or as a way to a technique they value. But this is part of the journey as a woodworker, and for those who have traveled this road they know all to well the value of a good jig. Recently I managed to accidentally break my tapering jig, this is a jig I have had for many years and it allowed me to create many different projects. But it certainly had things about it I wanted to change and wished that I had designed differently. So presented with the opportunity I created my second version of this jig addressing all of my concerns or what I felt were the short comings with it. The end result is a jig that I am very happy with and is much more suited to my needs and expectations. Jigs in woodworking are valuable assets, allowing you to create joinery and beautiful inlay details or things less complexed liked a simple tapper in a leg for that table or chair you are building. Whatever the project at hand there is no denying the advantages of having a good jig in your shop as a means to address certain aspects of your building process, or how much of an intrical part they can be in your woodworking in general. In learning woodworking there are so many areas in which they can definitely help to increase your skills and abilities. Not having the ability to create something like a mortise and tenon joint should not limit the quality of what you build or create to butt joints and screws as your only option for construction. If a mortise and tenon is what you wish to create there are several options, from after market models you can purchase to plans that are readily available to build your own. Just don't ever limit yourself in a project for lack of ability to approach a certain joinery or technique, always remember a good jig is a great option and usually ends up becoming your best friend sharing many great achievements and projects in your woodworking. Follow me here : YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/shavingwood WEBSITE: www.shavingwoodworkshop.com TWITTER: https://twitter.com/Shavingwood PINTREST: www.pinterest.com/shavingwood/ FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/pages/The-Shavingwood-Workshop/1421308791442987 Copyright © 2015 By The Shavingwood Workshop all rights reserved  Like everyday it starts out with me reading my emails, answering questions and receiving ideas and feedback from all of you. And so many of you I have gotten to know and have had the joy of speaking to on a regular basis. I look forward to these conversations, sharing ideas, thoughts and just small talk. Now getting requests for a specific project is something I receive regularly and for me this is an awesome thing because it lets me know what my veiwing audience wants to see. This has become so important to me that I have created a poll on my website asking what you would like to see for a future project and this information allows me to create and provide better content for all of you. My latest project video was a request, a garden planter box. The goal of this project was to build it small enough it could fit on a balcony or a small area in an apartment complex, yet big enough to grow a small garden. They asked if it could have an asian influence in apperance and if it could have removable trays for preplanting or for when the weather turned cold so they could be taken inside. For me it's like being the little kid in the candy store, that feeling of excitement and that adrenaline rush I get from a project request. Only to be surpassed when the project is finished and then greeted by that big glowing smile of approval from the receiver, this is why I do what I do and every build is about it. The approval that I receive from all of you, the words of encouragement, the great ideas we share, the thoughtfullness, the kind words that seem to have no end and most of all the support I get from each and everyone of you. Thank you to everyone for supporting me, following me and believing in me and I look forward to another year of inspiration and fun with all of you. - Tommy P Copyright © 2011-2015 By Thomas M Pawlowski and The Shavingwood Workshop all rights reserved
 With my cup of coffee in hand I sat down at my computer and start reading my emails as I do every morning. The emails I get are always possitive and usually very insightfull, and quite often they are full of stories of leasons learned, pictures of achievements fulfilled or someone simply taking time to say thank you.
I think for the most part everyone has experienced the situation of inspiration at some level, whether it is the neighborhood child that wants to be part of the things you do, or maybe that niece or nephew that looks up to you as a roll model. But when taking inspiration to the public that inspiration grows into heart warming stories that are both moving and incredibly amazing. Stories that truley leave a lasting impression on you. And over the years I have gained a few of these that stay with me. Over the course of the last few years I have been asked why I do what I do many different times, and my answer is always the same. I just want to inspire people, I want people to believe in thier own creativity and believe in their selfs. Believe that they can build it, make it and or take on that vision of creativity they have with in them and remove that inner doubt preventing them from experiencing it. I'm not a teacher or educator nor do I wish to be. But if I can inspire one person to be creative, then I did what I set out to do. This mornings email was truely one of those stories. It was from a sixteen year old boy that is living with cancer. He went on to talk about how hard it has been for him and the struggles he faces daily and the lack of motivation he faces having to perform even the simplest of daily activities, spending most of his time on his computer surfing the internet and watching videos. About six months ago he said he came across my channel on youtube and started following me, subscribing to my channel and liking and following my social media venues as well. Telling me that I have given him motivation to get out in to his fathers garage and build things, stating his last project was the laptop stand I had made a few videos back and even attaching a picture for me to see. He is truely an amazing young man and I am blessed to be a small part of his life. At any level of measurment the ability to inspire someone is an amazing achievement, that brief moment in time when you are able to give someone the gift of believing in themselfs. Sometimes by doing nothing more than telling them they can do it, or by answering that one question they may have of how to do it. Sometimes it's just a matter of letting that small child watch you in your shop. However it may come about I think the world needs more inspiration and less doubt, because that inspiration is what will build the future and that in it's self is truely inspiring. -TommyP |
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